1. hungry 2. alcohol

how about having the drinks and doing some exercise this weekend to burn it off

Do you exercise?

I agree. If I were to drink any alcohol, I'd just do some exercises to account for it.

Go for a walk / run / bike ride / dance...something and "earn" your beer calories. Make sure you are drinking lots of water.

What is your weight loss goal set at? the less you want to lose a week, the more calories you will be allowed. I suggest starting at 1 pound a week, and once you get used to eating less, adjust it.

my trainer told me that you have to burn 3500 calories to loose a pound. That just eating the 1200 is just so your body will function. You have to burn calories to loose weight. When you burn then you can eat a little more. Also splitting up your meals from 3 to 5 or 6 has also helped me a bunch.

As for your hungryness, try changing your goal loss per week. 1200 is the absolute lowest MFP will let you go (ie the biggest deficit it will let you set) so try setting a smaller deficit and getting some more calories. When you reach 1200, it generally means you are trying to lose more per week than you really should.

You only have about 20 lbs to lose, so I would recommend looking up your BMR, and setting your daily calorie goal to be within about 50 +/- that number.

Also set a rough calorie goal for meals and snacks, so you don't inadvertently "save" all your cals for dinner. This is an example of the rough estimates I keep in my head:

Breakfast: 250- 400
Snack: 50-200
Lunch: 300-450
Snack :50- 200
Dinner: 300-500
Snack: Anything left over

If you skip eating in favour of drinking you're going to end up A) really drunk, really hungover the next morning and C) you'll just eat whatever you can lay your hands on when your under the influence. I would just take the hit, have enough food and enjoy a social beer (or four!) Exercise is the key! You still have to live your life, right?

I'm eating 1200 calories a day and most days I have a hard time getting it all in. You should be eating 2-300 calories for breakfast and lunch and atleast one snack to get you through. Drink 80-100 ounces of water a day. Dinner for me is usually around 400 calories and I make sure to save 100 calories for my evening snack though most days I just can't fit it. If you exercise, you can add a few more calories to your day.

I love wine! So...over lunch, I go to my local exercise place and use the elliptical. I can't have the wine until AFTER I earn the calories. Works great and acts as a great motivator. Also, the exercise decreases my appetite. I eat a lot of soup for lunch. It's filling and stays with me. I also make a plate of sliced tomatoes, splash with balsalmic or red wine vinegar and lemon pepper or other seasoning. Filling and very few calories.

I've seen the websites about minimum calorie intake. Most say not to go under 1200 calories, but it all depends on your body. I just started going to a weight loss doctor and after doing all the measurements and whatnot he figured out that my body (not including exercise) only burns 1450 calories a day to live..he then put me on 950 calories a day so that I would lose a pound a week not including exercise. Your best bet is to find the best BMR calculator you can find online and type in your info to find your BMR. Once you do, subtract 500 calories from that and that's what you should eat to lose.

I went out last Saturday night with a friend and made the mistake of eating less so I would have calories for my drinks. I got really drunk. My advice is to exercise more so U earn calories and eat more or like U normally do. I don't usually eat my exercise calories, but there are exceptions. Hope this helps. Have a fun time!
Kim

This is so true, you don't want to really do that because you may end up more intoxicated then you would like this has happened to me several times! I would exercise the day that you know you are going to have cocktails, if you like beer try the light kind, Guiness is great if you like that type of beer it only has 125 cals for a 12 oz bottle and after two you get a nice buzz going . Vodka with a splash of cran is a good choice & also red wine.

My goal is set at 1200 as well. I make sure to exercise every day. That way I earn another 400-800 calories per day. In 5 weeks I have lost 14 pounds. I track everything I eat and drink. I have had a few times of going out with friends and having a few drinks. I log them. It has put me over my calorie count somedays. I think being honest with myself is the only way to really lose weight.
This past week has been what I wound consider a bad week. My food diary is open if you want to take a look.

Oh, I am rarely hungry

how about having the drinks and doing some exercise this weekend to burn it off

I agree! That's what I always try to do, I mean we are still human :happy:

People said that if I exercise (which I do) I will earn a few hundred more calories. Should I eat those then? It seems counter intuitive to do that....

YES!

I know it seems counter intuitive, but MFP is set up so that you have a deficit even when you don't work out. Most programs have you eat a higher number (say 1500-1800) but use your workouts to complete the deficit. MFP lists your NET calories, so even if you don't do the workout, you still get a deficit and will still see a loss. ESPECIALLY if you are at 1200 as your daily goal you NEED to eat these calories earned from working out- your body will need them.

The equation on your homepage:

GOAL FOOD - EXERCISE = NET. Your goal is to get your NET calorie number to be between 1200 and your daily calorie GOAL number.

Also remember, going over your calories doesnt equal failure interms of weight loss. The daily goal MFP has set for you already includes a 500 calorie deficit (usually, if you've selected 1lb per week), so if you ADD 500 calories to your total you are still "breaking even" for the day. Once in a while this is fine.

To see how many "extra cals" you have to that break even point check your GOALS page, there should be a number marked "Calories burned from Daily Activity" or something. As long as you stay under that number, you haven't gained any weight, you just have less of a deficit for the week. (so ie my GOAL is 1300 cals, but my est. burn per day is 1720- I have 420 "extra" calories of cushion)


Also to note- DEFINITELY don't weigh in for a few days after a splurge meal or drinks- the increased sodium will give you a false gain and you will feel like a jerk for magically gaining 4lbs from 3 beers or a full plate at applebees. DONT weigh in, DONT worry about it- its temporary.

^^^ this


PLUS:
If you are having trouble with 1200, then you should be eating more. I am guessing (based on mistakes everyone makes) that you chose sedentary and 2 lbs per week.
This is all wrong. MOST people are SO NOT sedentary. Do you do laundry, dishes, shopping, etc? Sedentary is "roll out of bed, plod to the couch, and don't move till you have to pee or want a snack". At least by MFPs standards, because they set the numbers way lower than most other sites. Choose 1 level higher then you think you should. THEN, set it for HALF a pound a week loss. With so little to lose, you should not be aiming for 2, and probably not even 1.
Your body does NOT want to let go of those last few pounds. You are within a healthy range and that is good enough as far as your body is concerned. It will hold those last 20 lbs as "back up" in case there is a famine. By eating 1200 you are convincing it that there IS a famine! You need to convince your body that it is getting enough nutrients and that it's SAFE to let go of it's "back up plan" for survival.
Hope this helps!:flowerforyou: